Thursday, October 13, 2011

Chicken and Gorgonzola Meatballs

I do meatballs the way some people do burgers—different protein, different veggies, different cheeses. I've done everything from tuna meatballs to this recipe for chicken and gorgonzola meatballs with caramelized onions...pretty ridiculous, right? I came up with this one day when all I had was some ground chicken and gorgonzola cheese, which I normally crumble on my salad. I also had leftover tomato basil sauce and an onion. I love mixing things together to create something new. Some people would love a cream sauce with these meatballs, but I'm not a fan so I chose to stick with a traditional tomato sauce, but it's great either way. These meatballs also can be made mini and dipped in ranch or your favorite dressing. Have fun with this and enjoy this delicious creation invented simply because I hadn't gone food shopping in a while. And if you want to eat these babies straight out of the pot, knock yourself out. I've done that, too, standing at the stove while sipping a glass of wine. —Jill

Caramelize onion in some olive oil on medium/med-low heat until golden brown and soft. (You don't want to fry the onion, just carmelize it.)

Put the caramelized onion in a bowl and mix with the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, oregano, (some basil if you choose), two big palm fulls of the gorgonzola cheese, a palm full of the parmesan cheese and the garlic. (You can sauté the garlic first if you don't want a strong garlic flavor.)

Mix everything together with your hands and form into meatballs. You can cook the meatballs a few ways:
Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or sauté in a pan with olive oil, searing on all sides and then drop into the tomato sauce to cook the rest of the way through. Or you can sauté on all sides, lower the heat, cover the pan and let the meatballs cook thoroughly.

By the way, I can't even talk about what a crazy meatball sandwich this makes—add some lettuce, a slice of tomato, some spicy mayo...OK, I can't go there, it's so great! However you like your meatballs, I hope this will become one of your favorites.

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Four cousins born in New Jersey reminisce about their childhood spending time in their Italian grandmother's kitchen and share how food not only has influenced their lives, but how their lives have influenced their food. They have taken family recipes, recreated some, invented others, and are sharing them now with the humor and warmth that can only come from four "Cousins in the Kitchen."